This invention relates generally to a stacker which functions to stack towels and other flat textile work products after the work products have been moved through a manufacturing process. More particularly, the invention relates to a compact high speed stacker used in connection with an end hemmer or similar apparatus which moves towels, sheets or other flat goods in closely spaced relationship through a sewing process, with the stacker functioning to rapidly move the work products out of the way of the next oncoming work product and to form a series of stacks of the work product.
In the production of towels, sheets and other flat textile work products, where the work products are formed by cutting them to length and then hemming the cut ends thereof, automated cutting and hemming equipment is utilized whereby the work products are cut to length and moved rapidly and in closely spaced relationship through hemming machines, etc. When each work product has been properly hemmed, it is desirable to move the completed work product out of the way of the next oncoming product and to neatly stack the finished work products.
One of the problems in stacking flat textile work products is rapid removal of the work product out of the way of an oncoming work product that is still being sewn or otherwise processed. If the completed work product is not quickly removed from the oncoming work product, it might be necessary to interrupt the manufacturing process.
Also, if the work products are of large size, the rapid removal of the work product from the process line is more difficult and usually requires larger, more expensive stacking equipment that occupies more space on the work floor of the mill. If the work products being processed vary in size, sometimes inadvertently, the stacker must have the capability of quickly removing the larger products as well as the smaller products.
For example, in a process in which toweling is cut to length and the cut ends are hemmed, if the cutter misses one of the cut cycles, a towel having twice the normal length might be processed through the hemmer. The stacker typically used at the delivery end of the hemmer would have to remove the extra long towel from the hemmer in the normal time between cycles of the hemmer and stacker in order to avoid interrupting the function of the hemmer.
Further, when the work product is being stacked, if the stacking function is performed too rapidly, the stacks or bundles of the work product that are formed by the stacking operation might be improperly formed, with wrinkles formed in the work products or with some of the work products being out of aligned position from the other products or misplaced from the stack or bundle.
When towels, sheets and other flat textile work products are being hemmed with the modern cutting and hemming equipment such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,133, the hemming process is performed with high speed sewing machines so as to achieve a desirable high production rate, and it is even more critical that high speed, accurate stacking of the finished work product be performed without interruption of the high speed sewing system.